I go out to feed the koi about ten minutes ago, and what do I see? A big fat soaking wet hawk perched on my miniature Easter Island tiki glaring out over my pond!
I yelled at him but he didn’t move until I threw a piece of firewood at him. He hesitated and gave me that “I’ll be back” glare before flying off. I have little doubt he got a few of my fish. They’re all cowering among the rocks right now so I can’t count them.
Short of covering it with an ugly net or something, how can I protect by pond from this bastard? I don’t think it’s legal in Calif. to kill hawks. What if I get my dog to do it?(like that crippled old sheep dog could even get close. sigh.) The dog peeing in the backyard seems to keep the racoons away. Is there something that will keep birds of prey at bay? (say that three times fast!)
This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to physically harm such a magnificent creature, but, goddamnit!, he’s eating my pets!!!
Stupid bird, I hope you choke on whoever you got. (Yeah, I know hawks can’t read.)
I have no comment on the post, but I would just like to state that I racked my brains for 15 minutes upon seeing the topic, wondering what I had done to piss off Ursa.
Winner, SDMB’s Biggest Chat Addict
“Only two things that’ll soothe my soul - cold beer and remote control.”
I don’t know if it would work with birds of prey, but a well-known garden expert in this area used cat silhouettes to keep geese off his dock.
He cut cat silhouettes out of tin or some lightweight weather-resistant material and punched a hole somewhere along the top. Then attached a string and tied it to a pole. The silhouettes would move in the wind, scaring the birds away. These were painted black, but I don’t know how visible they would be to a predator so high in the sky so you might try a different color. Also you might make them fairly large, maybe not Siberian tiger-size but somewhat larger than housecat-size.
Hoo boy. Then you’d REALLY be in trouble, sir! (No offense intended to either Satan or Lib.) But nah, no apologies necessary. I was amused as hell seeing it.
Winner, SDMB’s Biggest Chat Addict
“Only two things that’ll soothe my soul - cold beer and remote control.”
I suppose they might blow you off (since they are out to protect hawks), but maybe if you threatened to wring its neck they could give you some advice. (They are in PA.)
How about the California Dept. of Natural Resources? A federal park?
I don’t know how big your pond is, but you might try a fine mesh net as a temporary measure until you can get help. (If the net is too coarse, you might snare the hawk–I think that would cause all kinds of trouble.)
This reminds me of a news item I read a month or two ago. It seems an old woman was walking her pet Chihuahua in Florida somewhere when a hawk swooped down and grabbed it. The brave septuagenarian hung on to her end of the leash and had to resort to swinging both dog and hawk against a wall, breaking the hawk’s wing, before it would let go. She said she was screaming, “Drop the Chihuahua!” at the hawk the whole time. Animal control officials didn’t file charges, in view of the details, but warned her that injuring an endangered species is against the law. They also said that the hawk was quite emaciated and must have been starving to attack as it did.
I can’t see a Taco Bell commercial without thinking of this story and smirking.
If anyone can track down the news report, please post a link so everyone won’t think I’m starting a UL.
It was actually in the news, but your local papers aren’t always infallible. The story has popped up all over the world, with all kinds of different breeds of dogs and kinds of birds.
Sorry,
–John
'Twis brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymble in the wabe.
Mimsy were the borogroves,
And the momeraths outgrabe.
Well, all my koi and comets are accounted for, so if he got anything it must have been feeder goldfish or polliwogs. It looks like it’s going to be sunny today so I left the dog in the backyard. I’m hoping the hawk was on his way somewhere else when he stopped to visit my pond, but I’ve heard they’re pretty territorial. I might have to think about those tiger and emu shaped silhouettes, at least until he gets tempted away by all the rabbits and squirels that overrun the foothills around May.
[[[playing devil’s advocate]]]
I understand your situation and I really do feel for you, but what did you expect was going to happen when you introduced easy prey into a predator’s environment? It doesn’t seem fair to blame the hawk for doing what only comes natural to it.
I think the answer is in a previous post, Ursa Major. Start raising chihuahuas, and the hawk will use them as a food source.
Or leave a nice fat juicy steak for it every other day.
By the way, are you sure that a falcon or hawk will try to catch fish? I thought that amongst the raptors found in the USA, only bald eagles and ospreys did that, and I doubt one of those would be in your back yard.
Too bad the chihuahua story is a UL - truth may be stranger than fiction, but this is one time when I would have settled for its being exactly as strange.
That’s great. Mind if I steal it for my next sig?
Enough of voting for the lesser of evils - vote Cthulhu 2000!
You said the hawk was wet when you came out. This brings up the possibility that it may have stopped for a bath rather than lunch. After a bird bathes it takes a while before the feathers are dry enough for it can fly again. If it was stationary in your yard then it also would be unlikely that it was hunting at the time because hawks and facons hunt on the wing. I have witnessed some pretty amazing swoops made by hawks and falcons. BTW it is illegal to hunt raptors and other migratory non-game birds in North America under the terms of the Migratory Bird Act (which is law in Canada and the U.S.), so I think you should sit back and enjoy nature’s show. Sure it isn’t what you normally want to see, but how many people have that privilege.
Thanks Keith. That’s the most encouraging post I’ve read yet. I don’t have any problem with him using my pond to take a bath. Arnold’s post about hawks not being fishers seems to back up that theory, although I wouldn’t know the difference between a hawk and an osprey.
Another name for the osprey is the seahawk. You might see if it can play football. If it can, it’s not a seahawk. Or, more precisely, if it plays well for the first half and plays like a high school kid in the second half it’s definitely a seahawk. Call Mike Holmgren.
You can scare them away by showing them an old stadium. They can (apparently) only exist in a brand-new stadium right across the friggin street from the brand-new baseball stadium!
As far as the Urban Legend thing goes, is it IMPOSSIBLE for a starving hawk to pick up a chihuahua? A dachsund would be hard to take off with, but a chihuahhua?
This reminds me of something Tolkien said (Tree and Leaf, if you care): Would you disbelieve a story about the Archbishop of Canterbury slipping on a banana peel simply because you’ve heard stories about other older dignified men slipping on banana peels?
[/digression]
As far as the OP’s hawk goes, enjoy having it around. Don’t freak out too much. You can get more fish (just don’t get Dempseys–ooh!)
